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No matter what line of work you're in, knowing how to change the leading, or line spacing, of documents in Microsoft Word can be quite useful. Decreasing the line spacing allows you to fit more text into the same space and can come in handy while designing a flier or brochure. Increasing the line spacing will make large blocks of text easier to read and will allow you more space for hand-written corrections in printed drafts of documents. Furthermore, certain audiences for your document, such as the publishing industry, may have very specific requirements for line spacing. In Microsoft Word, you can adjust the line spacing to be the same across the entire document or change it for specific parts.

1. Launch Microsoft Word and open the document you want to modify.

2. Select the text for which you want to adjust the line spacing using your mouse or your keyboard. If you want to change line spacing for the entire document, press "Ctrl-A" to quickly select all text.

3. On the Home tab, click the "Line and Paragraph Spacing" button found in the Paragraph group.

4. Click one of the numbers in the menu to change the line spacing of the text you selected. Hovering your mouse over a number without clicking it will show you a preview of the changes. If you are not satisfied with any of the options provided in the menu, click "Line Spacing Options" and adjust the spacing to your liking using the "Line Spacing" drop-down list and "At" text box.

About the Author

Laurel Storm has been writing since 2001, and helping people with technology for far longer than that. Some of her articles have been published in "Messaggero dei Ragazzi", an Italian magazine for teenagers. She holds a Master of Arts in writing for television and new media from the University of Turin.